The beginning of February 1862 found the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Cavalry in Missouri. The troops traveled by train from Camp Dennison, Ohio.
It was not a leisurely ride, and as it turned out, the least of their worries.
According to Isaac Gause's book, "Four Years in Five Armies," the trains did not glide over the tracks. The tracks were rough and the ends of the rails were not bound together with iron straps. As such, the ties would rise and sink in mud and water when the train passed.
Reaching the Mississippi River at East St. Louis the regiment halted. The river was iced over but rains swelled the flow. The men were out in the rain with no shelter. Capt. Doubleday began constructing a plank bridge across the river. Many men crossed on the planks until the ice began to break up, then all hurried to shore. The wet and cold caused much sickness among the men, but there were no fatalities in the crossing.
Missouri was a bitterly divided state, as a result there were many guerrilla bands disrupting and harassing civilians and Union troops. William Quantrill led such a group. Born, July 31, 1837, in Dover, Ohio, he became a school teacher at the age of 16, then took up bookkeeping and driving wagons. He had moved west for work. Other members of his gang included, "Bloody Bill" Anderson, Frank and Jesse James, and Cole and Jim Younger.
Meeting a Missouri regiment, the Ohio troops heard many stories of the bitter fighting and saw desperadoes, gamblers and spies from both armies. At St. Charles, Mo., after a few days' rest, they again boarded a train. At daybreak they saw that the last car, carrying the officers was not attached to the train. Apparently a guerrilla soldier had boarded, pulled the coupling-pin and then quickly departed, leaving the detached officers' car behind. The train went back to find the officers' car surrounded by horsemen, who fled.
At this time, a Missouri citizen claiming to be a Union sympathizer with knowledge of the country applied to join. The officers were eager to reward a loyal Union man and enlisted him. It was later learned, however, that the man was Quantrill himself, and if he had been allowed to guide the regiment it would have meant disaster.
Another Trumbull County soldier had joined the 2nd Ohio Volunteer Cavalry and was with them in Missouri. Ralsa Rice was born in Vernon on July 3, 1838, and enlisted on Aug. 17, 1861.
The 23 year old later contracted measles and was hospitalized at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He then caught bronchitis and pneumonia, and was sent home to recuperate with his wife, Amanda, and children, Clara and Carlton.
Rice later joined the 125th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served under fellow Trumbull County native Emerson Opdycke.